Display-rack.



No. 890,929. PATENTED JUNE 16, 1908. P. ROUSH, JR. & H. ROUSH. DISPLAY RACK.

APP LTCATION FILED JAN. 4, 1907.

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P ROUSH, JR & H ROUSH DISPLAY RACK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN 4, 1907 714E NOHRIS PETER-S ca, WASHINOTON,,D- c.

No. 890,929. PATENTED JUNE 16, 1908.

P. ROUSH, JR. & ROUSH.

DISPLAY RACK APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4, 1907.

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PETER ROUSH, JR, AND HENRY ROUSH, OF GREENFIELD, OHIO.

DISPLAY-RACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1908.

Application filed January 4, 1907. Serial No. 350,719.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PETER RoUsH, Jr., and I'IENRY RoUsH, citizens of the United States, residing at Greenfield, in the county of Highland and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Display-Racks, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention relates to improvements in display racks and has for its object the provision of an improved rack of this character which will be capable of adjustment to bring the articles to be displayed into a position in which they will receive the best possible light; the provision of an improved bracket for pivotally supporting the display arm; and further the providing of the display rack with suitable means for supporting a display curtain behind the article being exhibited; and the provision of a suitable dust proof cover for the rack and its con tents. With these objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction to be hereinafter described, and then more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a display rack constructed according to my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the same, showing a modified form of supporting bracket; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the same; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken on the line a :c of Fig. 3, with the arms re moved; Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a display rack provided with my improved means for supporting the display curtain and with the improved dust cover; Fig. 6 is a detail view of a portion of the dust cover and its supporting bracket; Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the supporting bracket for the dust cover; Figs. 8 and ing device for the display curtain; Figs. 10 and 11 are modified forms of supporting brackets for the display arms; and Fig. 12 is a modified form of the supporting post.

In Fig. 1 of these drawings we have shown one form of display rack embodying our invention. This rack comprises a substantially vertical standard or post 1 which may be wood, metal tubing or any other suitable material, and is provided at its lower end with a pivot stud 2 which is seated in a bearing in the base or bearing block 3. The

9 are detail views of the support' upper end of the post 1 is also provided with a pivot lug 4, adapted to be engaged by a bearing socket in a support 5 which is se cured to some stationary support, such as the wall or ceiling of the room, and is preferably capable of a slight vertical movement, so that it can be readily removed from the pivot lug 4, allowing the standard 1 to be removed when it is desired to take down the rack. The standard 1 is provided near its upper end with a pair of brackets 6, extending transversely of the same and provided with a series of arms 7 which are pivotally connected to said brackets and provided with suitable brace rods 8, the brace rod secured to the upper arm being pivotally connected to the lower bracket and the brace rod con nected to the lower arm being pivotally connected to the upper bracket. This construction of the supporting brackets and'dislay armsis substantially the same as that set forth in the patent granted to us June 23, 1903, No. 731,504, and forms no part of the present invention. The display arms are provided with suitable means for attaching the articles to be displayed thereto, the means here shown consisting of one or more strips of fabric 9, which are looped over the arms and allowed to depend beneath the same and to which the articles are pinned or fastened in a suitable manner.

In Figs. 2 to 4 we have shown an improved form of supporting bracket which is espeoially adapted to be used with the rotatable post above described and consists of a plurality of horizontal bars 10, which may, if desired, be united at their ends by suitable upright members 1].. The horizontal bars 10 are preferably of angle iron and are provided on their rear sides with suitable meansfor securing the sane to the supportimg post or standard 1, this means being shown in the present instance asclips or braces 12, adapted to surround the upper end of the post 1 and to secure the bracket thereto. Each of the cross bars 10 are provided with a series of apertures 13, the apertures of the alternate cross bars being in substantially vertical alinement, that is, the apertures in the first and third cross bars are in substantially ver tical alinement with each other, but out of alinement with the apertures in the second and fourth cross bars which latter apertures are in substantially vertical alinement with each other and out of alinement with the apertures in the first and third cross bars. The display arms 14 are provided with suitable pivot lugs 15 which are adapted to ex tend through the apertures and support the arms thereon. These arms are mounted in pairs, the upper arm of one pair being secured by means of a pivot lug 15 in the aperture 13 of one cross bar and the companion arm being secured in a similar man ner in the aperture of the second cross bar below. The arms 14 are each provided with suitable brace rods 16 secured at one end to the arms and pivotally connected at their opposite ends to the cross bar on which the companion arm is mounted. In the form shown in Fig. 2, the brace rods 16 are provided at their inner ends with eyes or ring portions 17 which are adapted to extend over the end of the pivot lug 15 which extends through the cross bar 10 and to be secured thereon by suitable pins 18. This construction of the sup orting bracket and display arms permits of t e arms being placed much closer together on the bracket, that is, with less space between the apertures of the cross bars, and, at the same time, allow the arms to assume a position more nearly parallel with the cross bars 10 than is the case where the arms are all placed on a single pair of cross bars, as in the resent construction the arms overlap and lie one between the other, while in the other construction the adjacent sides come into engagement and prevent the arms from folding as close together as in the present construction.

It is desirable in display racks of this character that some means should be provided to cause the display arms to remain in a fixed open position without the use of retaining means, and, to accomplish this, the support is inclined slightly towards the rear at its upperend, thereby causing the su porting bracket to assume a position slight y out of a vertical lane and cause the outer ends of the disp ay armsto be slightly elevated, whereby they tend by gravity to move towards one side or the other of the rack and are thus held normally in open position. This result is obtained by forming the inner face 19 of the supporting standard on an incline or with an upwardly extending bevel, as shown in Fig. 2. This construction supports the bracket in the desired position and causes the arms 14 to move as desired.

In dis laying articles or fabrics having an openworr design, it isdesirable to place a suitable display curtain of dark material back of the article being displayed in order to more clearly bring out the design. This may be accomplished by securing such display curtains on the arms 14, but to equip a lar e size display rack with these curtains adC s considerably to the expense of installing the same, and, in order to enable a single display curtain to be used, the present rack is provided with means for supporting one end of a staff or rod to which such a display curtain is secured, the other end of the stafi being released or held in the hands of the operator, as desired, and the curtain allowed to assume its roper position behind the article being exhibited. The

preferred form of device for this purpose is strip and permitting the inner end of. the

staff 23, to which the display curtain 24 is attached, to be inserted above the horizontal portion 22 of the bail 21 and rest thereon, the end which extends beyond the bail 21 engaging the lower edge of the stri 20 and retaining the strip in a substantia ly horizontal position. v

A suitabile dust proof cover forgthe rack is provided by placing a supporting bracket or board 25 above the supporting arms and providing the same with a rod or wire 26 secured to the upper surface thereof and extending around the same at a slight distance from the edge thereof. The bracket 25 is preferably secured near one end to the upper end of the supporting post, the wall or any other suitable support, and is so positioned that it extends to one side of the central support in such a manner that when the arms are all turned to one side of the support the entire rack and its contents will be substantially beneath the bracket 25. Suitable rings 27 are slidably mounted upon the rod 26, which extends along the upper surface of the bracket 25, and carry one or more dust proof covers 28 which extend over the edge of the bracket 25 and down to the floor. The rod 26, being set slightly away from the edge of the bracket 25, causes the cover 28 to come. into contact with the edge of the bracket, thereby forming a dustproof joint between the cover and bracket.

Fig. 10 shows a modified form of supporting bracket which is substantially triangular in form and has the display arms pivotally connected to the longest edge thereof, as shown at 29, and is secured at the angle opposite said arms to the rotatable su port, as shown at 30. Fig. 11 is substantially the same in construction and operation, a portion of the supporting bracket having been cut away at 31.

We wish it to be understood that we do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

It will, of course, be obvious'that we may provide the posts which carry the support ing brackets with supports both at the top and the bottom, such as is shown in Fig. 2, and that the u per support may be secured either to the sic e walls of the room, the ceiling or in any other suitable manner, or that the posts may be supported solely from the base, the upper end being free. And fur ther, it will be obvious that we may make the post stationary and journal the brackets thereon. In this construction the post is preferably tubular throughout its length or a portion of its length and may or may not be provided with a support at the upper end thereof.

In Fig. 12 of the drawings we have shown a tubular post 33, supported solely from the lower end which is rigidly secured to a base 34., which, in turn, is secured to the floor or other supporting surface. The supporting brackets 35 for the display arms are preferably arranged in pairs, one on each side of the post, to more uniformly distribute the weight, but this arrangement is unnecessary to the successful operation of the device and single brackets may be employed. The brackets 35 may be rotatably supported on the posts in any suitable manner, that shown consisting in providing the brackets with one or more collars or bearing sleeves 36, adapted to engage the tubular post and to be retained in proper position thereon by suitable means, such as the pin 37. We have shown in this figure a single pair of brackets, but, of course, if desired, a plurality of pairs of brackets could be mounted on the same post.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A display rack of the character described comprising a rotatably mounted vertical standard having a tapered upper end, a bracket provided with a socket adapted to engage the tapered end of said standard and movably secure said bracket thereto, and a plurality of display arms pivotally connected to said bracket.

2. A display rack of the character de scribed comprising a supporting standard having its forward face upwardly and rear wardly inclined, a bracket secured to the inclined face of said standard and comprising a series of superposed transverse bars, and a plurality of display arms pivoted to said bars.

3. In a display rack of the character described, a support, cross bars secured thereto, a plurality of display arms pivotally connected to said cross bars, said display arms being connected in pairs and the arms of each pair being connected to alternate cross play arms being connected to dilferent cross bars than those to which the first mentioned pair of arms were connected, substantially as described.

4. In a display rack of the characterdescribed, a support, a plurality of cross bars secured thereto, each cross bar having a series of apertures therein, the apertures in alternate cross bars being in substantially vertical alinement with each other and out of alinement with the apertures of the remaining cross bars, and a plurality of dislay arms having pivot lugs secured thereto and adapted to engage the apertures in said cross bars, substantially as described.

5. A display rack of the character described comprising a rotatable standard having its upper end beveled toward the rear, a bracket, means for securing said bracket to the beveled face of said standard, whereby said bracket is supported out of the vertical plane, and a series of display arms pivotally mounted on said bracket, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

PETER ROUSH, JR. HENRY ROUSH.

Witnesses:

A. M. MACKERLEY, D. T. I-IEISER.

bars, and the next succeeding pair of dis- 

